The Place: East Forsyth Student Market
Meet Ezzy.
Ezzy is a Young Adult Coordinator with The Place of Forsyth, a nonprofit providing for essential needs of individuals and families in our community. Three days a week, you can find Ezzy at East Forsyth High School in The Broncos’ Place, a market where students can buy a cup of coffee before school or grab a quick snack during their breaks.
When East Forsyth opened, they invited three local nonprofits to take over a classroom and transform it into something that would support students. The Place had one goal for their space: to get students the resources they need with as little stigma as possible.
Too often, the fear of standing out keeps students from accessing resources or even visiting the counselor’s office. Teenagers want to fit in, so The Broncos’ Place lets them do just that.
It’s a space where any student can hang out—and many want to with the coffee shop vibe and comfortable seating. It’s stocked with the snacks and drinks that students love, all available at a low cost. There’s also a wide selection of free items like fruit, granola bars, and small hygiene items. The result? A group of friends can go through the line and each grab a snack, but the student whose family is struggling with food insecurity can grab a few extra items to fill their stomach. They blend right in, and they can concentrate better in class because they don’t have to worry about being hungry.
And Ezzy? She’s not really there to sell coffee. She’s trained in social work, and as students visit The Broncos’ Place, she gets to know them and their needs. Maybe she sees the same student needing food regularly and can send them home with a couple of microwavable dinners. Or a student shares about a need in their family that The Place can address with one of their incredible programs. Ezzy speaks both English and Spanish, so support is accessible to more East Forsyth students than ever.
Through Be Rich, you funded the setup and first-year expenses of The Broncos’ Place, making it possible for The Place to take their resources directly to students instead of waiting for students to come to them. It's been so successful that East Forsyth is giving The Place another room on campus, and more high schools in our community are exploring similar partnerships. This is one more way your generosity continues to impact families in our community!
